Imagine a future in which everything you own is connected to a wireless network via electronic tags and integrated sensors. Wouldn't it be handy if you could find the TV remote with a Google search? Or what if your fridge could IM you when the milk expired? Such household applications might still be 10 to 15 years off, according to Christian Floerkemeier of the Auto-ID Lab at MIT, but an unlikely powwow will bring research scientists and warehouse managers together to talk about embedding intelligence in inanimate objects now. Wal-Mart is already using RFID tags to track much of its inventory. And while current industrial applications like a chip that monitors container temperature in product shipments might not be as sexy as, say, a smart alarm clock that consults your meeting schedule then "decides" when to blare, we'll settle for unmelted chocolate bars in the meantime.